Medicare Advantage

Before your plan disappears in Jefferson County, read this

Jefferson County has 70 Medicare Advantage plans for 2027. Compared with 2026, 4 plans are not coming back, 17 are new, and 20 continuing plans changed in some way you should check before December 7, 8 of them under a new name. This guide covers what those numbers mean for Birmingham, not which plan to pick.

Medicare AdvantageBirmingham, AL

BIRMINGHAM — As the fall enrollment window opens, Medicare Advantage members in Jefferson County will see a noticeably different lineup for the 2027 plan year. Four plans that were sold in 2026 will not be offered again, 17 new plans are joining the local market, and eight are keeping the same coverage but arriving under a new name. Another 20 plans are staying but differ from last year on things like premium, deductible, plan type or name.

That means most people with a Medicare Advantage plan here should at least open the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) their carrier mailed in September before doing anything else.

Which Birmingham plans are leaving after 2026

Birmingham is in Jefferson County, where Medicare Advantage availability is set. According to the CMS Medicare Advantage Landscape Source Files, four plans offered in Jefferson County in 2026 will not be offered in 2027:

• Blue Advantage Premier (PPO) — Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama
• HealthSpring Preferred AL (HMO) — Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC)
• HealthSpring TotalCare (HMO D-SNP) — Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC)
• HealthSpring TotalCare Plus (HMO D-SNP) — Blue Cross Blue Shield (HCSC)

If your current plan is on that list, you will get a "non-renewal" notice from your carrier. You do not lose Medicare — only that specific Medicare Advantage plan is going away. You have a Special Enrollment Period that runs through the end of February to pick a new Medicare Advantage plan or return to Original Medicare (and add a stand-alone Part D drug plan if you want one).

Note: HealthSpring TotalCare (HMO D-SNP) and HealthSpring TotalCare Plus (HMO D-SNP) appear on both the leaving and the new-for-2027 lists. That usually signals the plan is being refiled rather than truly discontinued, but current members should still read the ANOC carefully because the contract details can change.

What's new for 2027

Seventeen new Medicare Advantage plans will be offered in Jefferson County next year, from five carriers already active in the market:

• Aetna Medicare Signature Extra Care (HMO)
• Blue Advantage Choice (PPO)
• HealthSpring Achieve Savings (HMO C-SNP)
• HealthSpring TotalCare (HMO D-SNP)
• HealthSpring TotalCare Plus (HMO D-SNP)
• DEVOTED C-SNP CHOICE ENHANCED 013 AL (PPO C-SNP)
• DEVOTED C-SNP CHOICE GIVEBACK EXTRAS 017 AL (PPO C-SNP)
• DEVOTED C-SNP CHOICE PLUS 015 AL (PPO C-SNP)
• DEVOTED CHOICE 007 AL (PPO)
• DEVOTED CHOICE GIVEBACK 009 AL (PPO)
• DEVOTED CHOICE GIVEBACK EXTRAS 038 AL (PPO)
• DEVOTED DUAL CHOICE FULL 011 AL (PPO D-SNP)
• AARP Medicare Advantage Extras from UHC AL-7 (HMO-POS)
• AARP Medicare Advantage Patriot No Rx AL-MA2 (HMO-POS)
• UHC Complete Care AL-8 (HMO-POS C-SNP)
• UHC Dual Complete AL-Q3 (HMO-POS D-SNP)
• VIVA Medicare Healthy Lifestyles (HMO C-SNP)

Several of the new offerings are Special Needs Plans (SNPs) — plans built for people with specific chronic conditions (C-SNP), those who have both Medicare and Medicaid (D-SNP), or those living in a nursing facility (I-SNP). You have to qualify to enroll.

Renamed plans — same coverage, new label

Eight plans are keeping their contract but going by a new name in 2027. If your ID card looks different next year, this is likely why:

• Blue Advantage Core (PPO) — was Blue Advantage Complete (PPO)
• HealthSpring Preferred Extra Savings (HMO) — was HealthSpring Preferred Full Savings (HMO)
• DEVOTED C-SNP CHOICE ENHANCED 009 AL (PPO C-SNP) — was DEVOTED C-SNP CHOICE PREMIUM 009 AL (PPO C-SNP)
• Humana Dual QMB Only (HMO D-SNP) — was Humana Gold Plus SNP-DE H4461-074 (HMO D-SNP)
• AARP Medicare Advantage Essentials from UHC AL-3 (HMO-POS) — was AARP Medicare Advantage from UHC AL-0003 (HMO-POS)
• UHC Dual Advantage AL-V2 (HMO-POS D-SNP) — was UHC Dual Complete AL-V002 (HMO-POS D-SNP)
• UHC Dual Complete AL-Q1 (HMO-POS D-SNP) — was UHC Dual Complete AL-D001 (HMO-POS D-SNP)
• UHC Dual Complete AL-Q2 (PPO D-SNP) — was UHC Dual Complete AL-D002 (PPO D-SNP)

A rename is not automatically a benefit change, but the ANOC will spell out anything else that shifted.

The 20 plans that are "changing"

CMS lists 20 additional Jefferson County plans as "changing" for 2027 — meaning they differ from last year on premium, deductible, plan type or name in the federal file. Fifty-three plans are simply continuing.

We are not going to guess at what changed on any specific plan. That is what the ANOC is for. Read yours. If a copay, drug tier, deductible or the provider network has moved in a way that matters to you, you have until Dec. 7 to switch during the Annual Enrollment Period, and another chance from Jan. 1 through March 31 during the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment Period.

The table below lists every Medicare Advantage plan offered in Jefferson County for the coming year.

What a Birmingham member should actually do

1. Find the ANOC that arrived in late September. It shows your plan's 2026 details next to its 2027 details. 2. If you got a non-renewal letter, mark your calendar. Your Special Enrollment Period runs through Feb. 28, 2027, but do not wait — coverage gaps happen when people delay. 3. Check that your doctors, hospitals and pharmacies are still in the plan's network for 2027. Networks can change even when the plan name does not. 4. Check the drug list (formulary) for anything you take regularly. In 2027, Part D has a $2,400 annual out-of-pocket cap and up to a $700 deductible, and the old "donut hole" is gone — but which drugs are covered, and at what tier, is set plan by plan. 5. Use medicare.gov's Plan Finder or call 1-800-MEDICARE to compare. Alabama's SHIP (the State Health Insurance Assistance Program) offers free one-on-one help.